Toddler died because of window flaw, suit alleges

Updated 10:00 pm, Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Claiming the window through which her toddler fell was wrongly designed, the mother of a 2-year-old boy who fell to his death in July 2008 has filed suit against the apartment building's owner.

The child, Honor Cornell Callandret, had been living at the Dakota at Rainier Court apartments for just more than a year when he tumbled through a fourth-story window on July 15, 2008, according to court documents. The child suffered fatal injuries in the fall and died later that day.

In filings with King County Superior Court earlier in September, the child's mother and guardian claim flaws in the window's design caused the deadly fall.

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The landlord, attorney Michael Goldfarb said in court documents, failed "to take appropriate measures that would have eliminated the fall hazard."

Neither the owner of the Dakota nor the window manufacturer has yet responded with the court.

Speaking following Callandret's death, Brian Johnston, chief of pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center, said the hospital, the region's leader in emergency medicine, receives about 40 children each year who have fallen from windows.

Johnston said then that he tries to warn parents to install safety guards on windows in their homes. Screens, he said, offer no protection for children.